Beit Zachariah / Zekharyeh
Sedot Mikha / Sdot Micha
31°42'N 34°55'E

The Israeli Air Force reportedly has three squadrons [150, 199 and 248 squadrons] equipped with Jericho nuclear-tipped missiles at the Sedot Mikha [Sdot Micha] base, 45 km south of Tel-Aviv. The Sedot Mikha Jericho IRBM base is located near the town of Zekharyah, east of Ashkelon and south east of Tel Nof AB, and south of the Sorek River between Kiriat-Gat and Beit-Shemesh.

Some western publications incorrectly use the term Sedof Mikha for this facility. Other nomenclature associated with this facility includes Hirbat Zachariah, Kfar Zekharya, Zachariah, and Zekharyeh.

It is reported that classified satellite imagery discloses about 100 missile emplacements, evenly divided between the Jericho-1 and Jericho-2 missiles. The Jericho-1 missile, developed in the late 1960s and deployed in facilities at Sedot Mikha, themselves constructed beginning in 1967, was believed to have achieved a range of over 450 kilometers. An advanced version, the Jericho II, with a range of at least 1,500 kilometers, was reported to have been test-flown in the late 1980s. As many as 50 Jericho-2 missiles may be based at facilities which were built in the 1980s. The base is built in a limestone region with numerous caves and small hills which have been hollowed out to house the Jericho 2 and its TELs, which are rolled out for firing. In December 1990, just before the Gulf War, Jericho-2 missiles were brought to readiness for firing, and Israel test-fired a Jericho from the Sedot Mikha facility.

After reviewing the new imagery, and comparing it to other sources, we estimate the number of hardened missile shelters capable of supporting operational IRBM's to be between 23 and 50 shelters. It is possible that two structures that appear to be multiple-drive-through garrages could support an additional 10-20 IRBM TELs.

This new view is supported by comparing declassified Corona satellite imagery, with a Russian 1:50,000 scale map published in 1987, and NIMA 10-meter CIB (Controlled Image Base) with the new Ikonos imagery. A trapezoid shaped munitions storage area once thought to be the Jericho II missile base, has the visual signature associated with conventional munitions storage.

The C-shaped earth-berms protecting the above-ground storage buildings are too narrow to maneuver road-mobile IRBM Transporter-Erector-Launchers (TELs) in and out with ease. Other munitions storage facilities near the village of Tirosh and just south of Highway 3, predate the IOC of the original Jericho Squadron. The driveways are too narrow to support missile tranporters or transloaders. Futhermore the trapezoid-shaped storage area post-dates the initial Jericho garrison 4 kilometers to the east, by at least five to ten years, and pre-dates the IOC of the Jericho II by three to four years.

Remaining Questions

The new satellite imagery fails to shed light on the question of which missiles are deployed at Zakaria. There are three possibilities:

1. The Jericho I IRBM was removed from operational service with the introduction of the longer range Jericho II. Under this scenario, the base at Zakaria was converted to Jericho II, and the Jericho I was retired. While there is no proof of this, one reason to justify this possibility is the high cost associated with refurbishing and extending the service life of the Jericho I solid-rocket motors, which probably have exceeded their reliable usable life-span. US Minuteman missile rocket motors required the propellant to be repoured, after 20 years of service. The US invested heavily in this service-live extension program spending, several billion dollars.

2. The Jericho I IRBM was kept in service at Zakaria, and the Israelis built a new and more secret missile base elsewhere for the Jericho II. If it exists, this new base has survived leaks, and disclosure from defectors, and remains one of Israel's most secret facilities. On the other hand, Israel is a small country and there are only so many places to build brand-new missile bases.

3. A third possibility is that Israel only has one strategic IRBM base, located at Zakaria, and both the Jericho I, and II are deployed there. One problem with this theory is that there does not seem to be enough hardened missile shelters to support the reported 100 missile emplacements. Ikonos imagery reveals about 21 probable shelters.

4. Lastly, some of the missile lauchers could be deployed in the field. Unlike the US deployment of Pershing II and Cruise missiles in Europe, there are simply not very many locations that are secure, and free from detection by hostile enemies or terrorists.

Click on the small image to view a larger version

Estimated Range of Israeli Ballistic Missiles

General location of Zakaria in Israel

Tactical Pilotage Chart of the Zakaria IRBM Base

Tactical Pilotage Chart of the Zakaria IRBM Base

CIA map of Israel, 1993

CIA Map of Israel, 1993. Several munitions storage areas and the Jericho IRBM base are depicted. These areas are not visible on maps produced by Israel

1987 Russian 1:50,000 scale map of Zackaria.Tel Nof Air Base is in the upper left; munitions storage facilities are in the center of the image; and the Jericho IRBM base is in the lower right

1987 Russian 1:50,000 scale map of Zackaria

1987 Russian 1:50,000 scale map centered on the Zackaria Jericho IRBM Base.To the right is Beit Shemesh Industrial Zone, which has been mis-identified as being associated with the Jericho missile base

1987 Russian 1:50,000 scale map of Zackaria with a close-up of the Jericho IRBM Base

NIMA CIB imagery of Zakaria as of 1995. Munitions storage areas 5 kilometers west have been confused with the IRBM base

Close-up of the IRBM Base. The Beit Shemesh Industrial Zone, has been confused with the IRBM base

Ikonos imagery of Zakaria as of 13 April 2002. The image has been resampled by Space Imaging to comply with the Kyl-Bingaman amendment to the Defense Appropriation act of 1997, requiring all US commercial satellite companies to degrade their imagery of Israel to a resolution of 2 meters or more

Declassified Corona satellite imagery of zakaria under construction as of 6 May 1971

This area is believed to be the first squadron of Jericho missiles to be operational

A second squadron of missiles is located north of of the first area. Each squadron is surrounded by a 5-kilometer security perimeter and patrol road

This is the missile base headquarters and support area

A smaller secured area to the northwest, of unknown purpose. The driveways are narrower and the angle to the road is sharper. These driveways could be warhead or explosives storage or could be additional missile garages

A close-up of the southern missile squadron area. Nine slanted missile garages remain unchanged since the facility was under construction in early 1971. A possible drive thru-garage is just to north of the garages

Corona imagery of the missile shelter under construction in 1971. Each garage is clearly visible

Ikonos imagery close-up of the missile shelters

Each shelter measures 10 x 30 meters (35 x 90 feet). These are long enough to accomodate both the Jericho I and II missiles

Overview of the munitions storage area 4 kilometer to the west

Closer-examination reveals c-shaped earth berms, and light frame above-ground storage buildings consistent with western-style explosives storage. The curve of the drive-way will probably not support Jericho I or II road-mobile missile TELs or transloaders